PayPal founder: $1.7M to Paul PAC

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel donated another $1.7 million in January to the super PAC supporting Ron Paul’s presidential bid, according to documents released Monday.

Thiel, a billionaire who runs the hedge fund Clarium Capital, has donated a total of $2.6 million to the pro-Paul group Endorse Liberty since it was founded on Dec. 20.

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He’s the largest contributor to the super PAC, which reported bringing in $2.4 million in January in addition to its late December haul of $1 million, according to the reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Other big donors to Endorse Liberty include Stephen Oskoui, founder of Smiley Media and co-founder of the super PAC, and Gunter Marksteiner, owner of a Florida broadcasting group. Oskoui donated $125,000 in late January and provided $296,000 of in-kind media services. Marksteiner cut a check for $2,500 and donated $161,000 in in-kind air time on WHDT, the group’s filings show. Luke Nosek, another PayPal co-founder, contributed $10,000.

The super PAC spent more than it raised in January, shelling out $2.9 million. The bulk of its costs, $2.5 million, were for online advertising on Facebook, Google and other websites. The group spent $165,000 on television advertising last month.